Eliot A. Cohen in the Washington Post:
Syria will require more than cruise missiles
In 1994, after directing the U.S. Air Force’s official study of the Persian Gulf War, I concluded, “Air power is an unusually seductive form of military strength, in part because, like modern courtship, it appears to offer gratification without commitment.” That observation stands. It explains the Obama administration’s enthusiasm for a massive, drone-led assassination campaign against al-Qaeda terrorists. And it applies with particular force to a prospective, U.S.-led attack on the Syrian government in response to its use of chemical weapons against a civilian population.
President Obama has boxed himself in. He can no longer ignore his own proclamation of a “red line.” The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in a breach of proper civil-military relations, has publicly telegraphed his skepticism about any use of force in Syria. But the scale, openness and callousness of the Syrian government’s breaking of an important taboo seems likely to compel this president — so proud of his record as a putative war-ender — to launch the warplanes yet again in the Middle East.
The temptation here is to follow the Clinton administration’s course — a futile salvo of cruise missiles, followed by self-congratulation and an attempt to change the topic. It would not work here. A minority regime fighting for its life, as Bashar al-Assad’s is, can weather a couple of dozen big bangs. More important, no one — friends, enemies or neutrals — would be fooled. As weak as the United States now appears in the region and beyond, we would look weaker yet if we chose to act ineffectively. A bout of therapeutic bombing is an even more feckless course of action than a principled refusal to act altogether.
A serious bombing campaign would have substantial targets — most plausibly the Syrian air force, the service once headed by Assad’s father, which gives the regime much of its edge over the rebels, as well as the air defense system and the country’s airports, through which aid arrives from Iran. But should the Obama administration choose any kind of bombing campaign, it needs to face some hard facts.
For one thing, and despite the hopes of some proponents of an air campaign, this would not be surgical. No serious application of air power ever is, despite administration officials’ claims about the drone campaign, which, as we now know, has killed plenty of civilians. A serious bombing campaign means civilian casualties, at our hands. And it may mean U.S. and allied casualties too, because the idea of a serious military effort without risk is fatuous.
Eliot A. Cohen teaches at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. He directed the U.S. Air Force’s Gulf War Air Power Survey from 1991 to 1993.
There’s more and you should read it.
I agree with Mr. Cohen. Lobbing a few cruise missiles into Syria will accomplish nothing except possibly restore the illusion of Obama’s presidential manhood in the eyes of his followers.
If it were only a futile and impotent gesture that would be one thing. But it could easily be the first shot in an escalating series of military actions and reactions leading to war. World War I started with an assassination and then one thing led to another.
The best policy on Syria is one of containment. Keep the fire from spreading until it burns out. There is no need to be in a hurry. We have not been attacked nor have we been threatened. None of our allies has been attacked or threatened.
War is a last resort, and we aren’t there yet.
If we do go to war (and launching non-defensive missile strikes would be an act of war) then it needs to be done with the express prior approval of Congress. Right now approximately 60% of Americans oppose getting involved in Syria. If Obama wants us to go to war then he needs to make the case for it to the American people.
Otherwise, no.
But he needs a distraction from his scandals and the clusterfuck of Obamacare. What use is all that military hardware besides distraction and saving his incompetent ass? I would strongly suggest avoiding a pissing match with Iran, Putin specifically, and the Chinese who need their oil coming out of the Gulf. The NSA scandal has driven them all deep and he does not have a clue now to what they are going to do. Everything he and his advisers touch turns to merde. Wag the dog.
Distraction was the first word that came in my head. Obama can’t even fix our country, can’t even negotiate with Republicans or have decent relationships with foreign leaders. I have no confidence in him or Kerry to make any decisions on my behalf much less people on the other side of the world.
And if they do, heaven help us all.
Wag the Dog is so last decade.
It’s twerk the dog now.
Twerk the dog! Is the dog twerked or does the dog do the twerking? LOL.
Twerk the dog? Obama likes his dawg jerked…as in spice baby.
{{spit take}}
Love this guy. He has a point, isn’t the UN sort of worthless for our interests? All I could think of is Colin Powell pitching the Iraq war with his little vile of baby powder. How did that work out?
Love Ted!!!!
Diddo Swan 🙂
So true! I sick of the Progressive contempt for America and Americans and their need to grovel for world approval.
Obama the “Constitutional Scholar” doesn’t acknowledge separation of powers. Unless of course, it works in his favor.
And we’ve got our own desperate weasel, PM Kevin Rudd (Krudd to those who know and loathe him) manufacturing importance out of this business, manufacturing campaigning ops, and being himself — iow loathsome. By no coincidence, he’s got 2 Obama operatives advising his campaign. Please pray for us.
Iowahawk strikes again. “Miley Cyrus. From Hannah Montana to Ida Ho.”
I hope she’s being sarcastic. But something tells me she’s not.
Here’s a good letter from a mom to her daughter:
http://roadkillgoldfish.com/2013/08/26/dear-daughter-let-miley-cyrus-be-a-lesson-to-you/
Cyrus is the second generation of MTV women who substitute pulling down their pants and prancing in their underwear for music talent. I long for the day when I can call a company other than Comcast and have VH1, E!, MTV etc removed from my cable selections and only pay for channels I choose. Force this crap in to a free market and then we will see if it reflects American culture or only the wet dreams of a bunch of skanky old men who control media. And since they are so sure it reflects America then they have nothing to fear from a free market since everyone will rush to sign up for it and pay for it. My motto….if you want to watch it, you can pay for it, don’t tax me.
Right on.
This is by the editor of Drudge, except for the Sarah part, I totally agree with him 😀 Now we need a similar cleansing of the vile progs……
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/aug/25/curl-grand-old-party-about-go-boom/
You are right. He is almost.
Arrrrghhhh!!!!!!!!
Can’t believe we are going down the war-in-ME rabbit hole AGAIN.
For gawd’s sake.
Your tweets were spot on vm, #DumbWar indeed.
Thanks Denise. Congress needs to grow a pair and send Obama back to the golf course.
Isn’t Obama the one who supposedly gave “that speech” against going to war with Iraq?
Yep !! Got a Peas Prize for it. he did. 😆
For pete’s sake, why is the NAACP still going after Zimmerman ?
http://www.caintv.com/2-million-sign-naacp-petition
Keep stirring the hate, and we’ll keep pointing out that black thugs who kill for fun and street cred are the real domestic terrorists.
The NAACP’s constituency has never been black people. The people they seek out to fund them are white people looking to donate money to assuage guilt. Fewer and fewer of us feel guilty so they need to do things like this to ramp it up again. If they actually represented “colored people” as their name implies, they would be focusing on programs to help unemployment, to eliminate gangs, restore families, and keep kids in school. But that’s hard. Getting people to sign a petition going after Zimmerman is easier, and brings in donations instead of costing money.
Honk!
Vile Prog tech companies are feeling the bite from their NSA collaboration. Unintended consequences are always so interesting. What other industries can Obamacrats kill off?
http://www.breitbart.com/InstaBlog/2013/08/27/NSA-Scandal-Hurting-Tech-Industry-Bottom-Line
Pigs are flying. I actually agree with Mika. Miley is a mess and possibly anorexic.
Miley Cyrus earned more money this year than you or I will ever see in our lifetimes. Worry about someone who deserves help.
I’m not worried so much as cringing. She’s such a train wreck.
I don’t give a rats ass about MTV, the “music industry” or Miley and her handlers, I just don’t want to pay for it. Give us the OPTION of cable TV a la carte please. It would be nice if they could start a channel that features women with actual musical talent and personal and sexual integrity but I’m not holding my breath on that. That sort of thing will have to come from real women via Youtube as it would never appeal to the men who approve every concept in the current incarnation of media.
Honk! Cable a la carte!
We will never get alacarte cable until most folks bite the bullet and cut the cord. DO IT! You’ll be surprised at how much reality TV you won’t miss.
“We will never get alacarte cable until most folks bite the bullet and cut the cord”
I know! and what I can’t figure out is why hasn’t any company figured out that people like me…women who don’t watch sports, are underserved by the Media Cartel so we are a good demo to sweep up and serve with an a la carte option. Women consumers are the majority of consumers, we supposedly make 80% of household purchasing decisions and we are the perfect group to launch an a la carte service with.
Satellite actually has the largest number of limited packages. You can order a family channel package from Dish Network, that includes Fox News but not MSNBC or CNN.
Cable competition will always be hard to come by because a separate set of wiring has to be strung for thousands of miles in any one city. If two companies compete, they cut their utilization in half. Most likely, the a la carte system will be IP based using higher speed network technology. Unfortunately, the cable company provides most of that bandwidth right now.
http://pjmedia.com/tatler/2013/08/26/congressman-to-obama-on-syria-decision-congress-is-not-a-potted-plant/
congress in not a potted plant. war powers act??????
Well, Congress can stop behaving like a potted plant. BTW, a potted plant should have beat Obama in 2012 ! 😉
And where is all the screeching from the Left about Obama acting just like Bush (again)?
http://therightscoop.com/ugh-muslim-brotherhood-group-isna-working-with-white-house-officials/
gee I wonder why I do NOT feel secure?
I need a Just Because
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/10268547/Syria-Russia-evacuates-citizens-ahead-of-military-strikes-in-the-next-few-days.html
Russia evacuating citizens from Syria
But what does our Persian/Iran expert Valarie Jarrett think about the Middle East and our involvement in Syria?
I just can’t believe that heart-eating cannibal Syrian rebels would use nerve gas on civilians! It must be Assad!
http://theulstermanreport.com/2013/08/27/white-house-insider-barack-obama-a-weak-ass-fool/
whitehouse insider interview
Wasn’t this the blog that said Obama was going to lose for sure in 2012?
Snerk
https://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2013/08/27/only-323000-people-watched-obamas-cnn-interview-friday-came-third-beh#main-content
so just how relevant is backtrack?
http://hotair.com/archives/2013/08/27/carney-why-no-our-response-to-syria-has-nothing-to-do-with-the-regime-change-weve-demanded-since-2011/
It seems to me I have heard that song before
Oops.
He “disrupted” her.
This coward blocked me.
Did anyone post this yet????
Ickes Returns to Democratic Committee’s Rules and Bylaws Panel
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/08/27/ickes-returns-to-democratic-committees-rules-and-bylaws-panel/?_r=2&
Unfuckinbelievable. I will never forget that moment when Ickes called B.S. on the whole arrogant lot of them.
oh, it gets better:
“He predated the Clinton era, but when I saw Harold reappointed to the D.N.C., he surely, in my judgment, symbolizes the return of the Clintons,” said Donna Brazile, a fellow member of the rules committee.
I’m having flashbacks.
holy smokes. getting weird over there in dnc-land.
Cartoon about the peace prize president:
http://townhall.com/political-cartoons/2013/08/27/111776
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/08/26/Firearm-Conglomerate-Cancels-Colorado-Expansion-Because-Of-Gun-Control-Laws
guess Colorado does not need businesses or jobs
Twitterz bin hacked
This is fascinating. Quite a bit hyper race sensitive like we’ve seen over the last 6 years, but still interesting with a few points worth thinking about. Sort of relates to the tweet above about Miley slapping butts. http://groupthink.jezebel.com/solidarity-is-for-miley-cyrus-1203666732
🙄
It’s kind of like the “n-word”, though. It’s OK if Rhianna portrays a hyper-sexualized version of the black woman, but it’s not OK if Miley Cyrus emulates her. If one is a black woman concerned about the image of the black woman as being unable to control herself sexually, the image of an actual black woman bumping, grinding, and twerking on the stage in her underwear is more damaging to you than a white woman caricature. It’s hard to say the white woman has it all wrong if she’s doing a good job of being a wannabe.
When the complaints about using black women to sell videos, extends to those made by black men , they might have some validity , until then pffft
Sing it!
http://www.theonion.com/articles/psychiatrist-patiently-listens-to-obama-complain-a,33553/
The Onion: Psychiatrist Patiently Listens To Obama Complain About Every Single American
This makes me stabby
Baugh said he listened to recorded statements given by Morales before her death and believes that while she was a troubled youth, she was “as much in control of the situation” as Rambold.
The judge also said Morales was “older than her chronological age.”
She was 14 (and the teacher is 49)!?!?!? What kind of an idiot is this judge? Madness.
Because of judges like that they came up with mandatory minimum sentences which take away judicial discretion but also work injustice by imposing ridiculously long sentences where leniency is appropriate.
Trig’s first day of school 🙂
Cutie pie …. and that kid he’s holding too 😉 Seriously, love this family.
So sweet!
Thought myiq would get a kick out of this photo:
Finally, a truly deserving persons earns a peace prize, but should be the Nobel …..
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/27/malala-international-childrens-peace-prize_n_3822445.html
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/us-president-barack-obama8217s-words-of-comfort-for-christopher-lane8217s-family/story-fni0fiyv-1226703459553
backtrack finally speaks on Chris Lane murder
Yet another thing I haven’t heard from our media: “over the past week, anti-government rebels have been carrying out a campaign of ethnic cleansing against Syrian Kurds in the north-east of the country, forcing 40,000 of them to flee across the Tigris into northern Iraq in less than a week. So many are trying to escape in what the United Nations says is the biggest single refugee exodus of the war that the pontoon bridge across the Tigris they were using is near collapse and has had to be closed, trapping tens of thousands of terrified Kurds inside Syria.”
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/only-a-peace-conference-not-air-strikes-can-stop-further-bloodshed-8784836.html